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Jazz

Jazz Icons: Cannonball Adderley boasts two beautifully filmed concerts from one of the most celebrated sextets in jazz history, captured at the top of their game. Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Nat Adderley (cornet) and the masterful Yusef Lateef (tenor sax, flute, oboe), provide a massive three-horn frontline attack, while the stellar rhythm section featuring a pre-Weather Report Joe Zawinul (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums) fuel the songs with a deep infectious swing. Quincy Jones' "Jessica's Day" leaps from the gate with a huge "big band" sound that is extraordinary for only six musicians.

This video is a reminder that Cannonball Adderly was one of the most outstanding and highly respected alto saxoponists in the history of jazz, a blues-based jazzman who could play anything in superb fashion.

People in the know say that Al Foster was the only true friend Miles Davis ever had. Here's what the Prince of Silence wrote about him: "For what I wanted in a drummer, Al had all of it. He knocked me out because he had such a groove. That was the kind of thing I was looking for. Al could set it up for everybody else to play off and just keep the groove going forever." As a member of Miles' band for thirteen years, Al also shared his instrumental mastery and rhythmic chops with pianist Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon, Chick Corea, George Benson, Wayne Shorter - just to mention only a handful of the jazz giants he performed with. In 2007, it was a great honor for the New Morning to welcome Al's stellar Quintet featuring pianists Aaron Goldberg and George Colligan, saxophonist Eli Degibri, bassist Doug Weiss and trumpeter Eddie Henderson. To his innumerable fans, there is no doubt that very few musicians are as totally synonymous with the highest standards in jazz and groove today as Al Foster.

Originally broadcast as "The Original Rompin' Stompin' Hot and Heavy, Cool and Groove All Star Jazz Show" on CBS television in 1977, this video from filmmaker Gary Keys contains performances from Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Max Roach, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Williams, and more. The Witty and informative program traces the birth of jazz from spirituals all the way to the wild sounds of the '70s via live performance, dance and narration.

It came out of the dark heart of America, the aura, the smoke-filled essence of jazz, the music of joy, abandon, yearning. New cadences, accents, pulsations. Nights of improvisation and hot rapturous jazz found its was to New York's 52nd Street, Swing Street, the mecca, featuring the soul of this jazz, its voices, its prophets, its players.

The All That Jazz series, compiled from historical archival footage, animated photography and original music, chronicles the evolution of jazz from its roots in the 19th century to the new millennium, exploring the creation, development and fusion of the music styles and all the artists who created the unique sound that is jazz.

All That Jazz, From New Orleans to New York, is an anthology of jazz music which prior to the popular swing era of the 1930s and 40s is often referred to as "early jazz." Through its origins before the turn of the 20th century, jazz had evolved from a regional music, central to New Orleans and its surrounding, to a musical style at the forefront of national and international popular music by the 1930s and 1940s.

Today, America's music does what it has always done - bring people together. In American music every aspect of life, ethnicity and culture is merged, mixed and highlighted. The rich diversity of American culture and life is reflected in its lively beat-filled rhythms. American music is the story of the country, a reflection of a nation alive with change, filled with curiosity and led by hope and excitement.

America's music legacy, be it blues, jazz, country, rock, R&B, or folk, is the songs and artists who have a special power to express what words alone cannot: hopes, fears, dreams, love, hate, anger, pride, aspirations and disappointments. Because songs span the breadth of human experience, they are uniquely able to communicate across time and space the beliefs and ideas held by their composers, performers and listeners.

The blues genre is based on the blues form but possesses other characteristics such as specific lyrics, bass lines and instruments. Blues can be subdivided into several subgenres ranging from country to urban blues that were more or less popular during different periods of the 20th century. Best known are the Delta, Piedmont, jump and Chicago blues styles. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of...

Today America's music does what it has always done, bring people together. In American music every aspect of life, ethnicity, and culture is merged, mixed, and highlighted. The rich diversity of American culture and life is reflected in its lively beat-filled rhythms. American music is the story of the country, a reflection of a nation alive with change, filled with curiosity and led by hope and excitement.

America's music legacy, be it Blues, Jazz, Country, Rock, R&B or Folk are the songs and artists who have a special power to express what words alone cannot: hopes, fears, dreams, love, hate, anger, pride, aspirations and disappointments. Because songs span the breadth of human experience, they are uniquely able to communicate across time and space the beliefs and ideas held by their composers, performers and listeners.

Blues and ragtime, along with a rich local brass band tradition and many other influences, came together in early 1900s in New Orleans, Louisiana, to create a new type of music called Dixieland jazz, also known as traditional jazz or New Orleans jazz. As jazz gained in popularity, it spread north from New Orleans to Chicago, New York, Kansas City, and across the Midwest to California.

Archie Shepp needs no introductions: he is one of the greatest African American saxophonists and one of the last living giants of the 20th century jazz. For some thirty years now, he has divided his time between Europe and the University of Massachusetts, where he teaches music history. After having, in the wake of Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane, been one of the driving forces of New York avant-garde jazz in the 1960's, Archie has traveled back to the musical roots of his people: the blues. Today, both as an instrumentalist and singer, he is one of the most irresistible interpreters of the genre. This untiring champion of African American culture is also one of the oldest and dearest friends of the New Morning. In 1978, it was he who inaugurated the big stage of the New Morning in Geneva; at exactly the place where we taped him, in August 1994, with the late master pianist Horace Parlan, Wayne Dockery and Steve McCraven.

A unique biography of Louis Armstrong , the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day and only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on the history of Jazz as Louis Armstrong did. One of the first soloists on record, although he was preceded by Sidney Bechet, Louis was more responsible than anyone else for jazz changing from an ensemble-oriented folk music into an art from that emphasized inventive solo improvisations. His relaxed phrasing was a major change from the staccato style of the early '20s, helping set the stage for the swing era, and Armstrong demonstrated that it was possible to have both impressive technique and a strong feeling for the blues.

One of the few complete concert performances of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, this live recording features the legendary jazz trumpeter and singer on an Australian tour in 1964, when he had already become an international superstar and a living symbol of 20th-century American culture. As a founding father of jazz he revolutionized the world of music and became one of the most influential artists and entertainers ever. The impressive structure of his melodic ideas and the radiant sonorities and flawless technique of his trumpet playing all marked him out as jazz's first soloist of genius. Louis Armstrong set new standards for swing feeling, improvisation, scat singing and command of his instrument, but also for stage presence and entertainment, providing a model for performers in virtually every field of jazz and on every conceivable instrument. With his All Stars sextet, which he formed in the wake of the Second World War, he acted as an ambassador for jazz, restlessly travelling the world. The present documentary was shot at a time when he succeeded in creating a song that was a minor miracle: "Hello Dolly" even displaced the Beatles from the number-one position in the charts in 1964, a fact of which Armstrong was unaware as he was touring at the time. Armstrong's associates -...

This is a long-unavailable video of Chet Baker playing a relaxed session in the Sonet Record library in Lidingo, Sweden, with the highly compatible support of French pianist Michel Graillier and Belgian bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse.

Jazz great William "Count" Basie comes back to life in this rich documentary, which traces the history of the pianist, composer, and bandleader over several decades. Filmmaker Gary Keys juxtaposes a roundtable discussion among old cats from the Count Basie Orchestra with recorded performances, including a cameo performance in the film Blazing Saddles.

Archival clips and a gallery of portraits and snapshots show the ever-smiling face of a man as vivacious as the grooves he delivers - his good humor suffusing the music and the players going at it all around him, from Lester Young to Ella Fitzgerald.

Geneva 1994: The legendary New Morning club rose from its ashes for the duration of a memorable jazz festival. Among the heavyweights in the blockbuster line-up was Bob Berg. No one who heard him there has forgotten the white-hot saxophone, the intensity and the rough lyricism of this very "Scorsesean" former Manhattan taxi driver. Backed superbly by Alvin Queen, Niels Lan Doky and Pierre Boussaguet, Bob gave one of his best concerts ever; on that evening, Berg was certainly still "the rebel with the angry saxophone" Miles Davis had asked to join his comeback tour in 1984. But the rebel had learned to control his fiery spirit - fishing off Cape Cod had taught him the meaning of "zen" - and Bob had grown into a fully rounded artist, roaming majestically somewhere between Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz. Our friend Bob was on his way to the top (and to buying a pack of cigarettes) in 2002 when his path crossed that of a skidding truck on an icy mountain road ...

Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz , the only documentary about the legendary Jazz record label includes original footage from concert recordings with John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and many others plus original footage of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff .

The highlights of the un que 3-day Wilebski's Blues Saloon Festival brings together musicians whose individual approaches demonstrate the extraordinary diversity of contemporary blues music. Yet, all the artists' performances have one common factor that unites them - emotion - the heart and soul of blues.

The Blues Company is an innovative band that breathes fresh life into the blues. When Germany's oldest and most successful blues band is on the stage, knocking out masterpieces of Chicago blues, soul, boogie, rock and New Orleans sound, no-one in the audience can fail to be moved.

Some of America's greatest traditional blues masters get together at home to swap songs from the old days and stories of what those days were like, when blues flourished 'back down home' at country breakdowns, corn-shuckings and houseparties. These musicians and their friends create the lively spirit of houseparty blues, while conveying the values, the history, the good and bad times, and the sense of community that gave form to their music and dance (Blurb by Dick Spottswood)

This video portrays the man behind the myth of James Joseph Brown who was recognized by a plethora of titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul.

Jazz vibraphonist and educator Gary Burton, winner of "Down Beat" magazine's "Jazzman of the Year" award, a member of the Percussion Hall of Fame, and Executive Vice President of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Burton is known worldwide as a musical innovator and master improviser. In a career that has spanned three decades, he's recorded with jazz legends like Stan Getz, George Shearing and Quincy Jones. Pop and Rock stars like k.d. Lang and Eric Clapton, and played with his own bands throughout the world.

Ivan Acosta's documentary focuses on Candido's contribution to the world of Cuban music, American Jazz and Latin Jazz. Through conversations, performances, testimonies, Candido: Hands of Fire , grabs the audience attention all the way till end. Candido Camero is a musical giant hailed as one the greatest Cuban percussionists to come to the United States.

This is a veritable treasure from the Sonet archives - the legendary Benny Carter playing an informal, hugely swinging session with an all-star group. It presents The King at his superlative best.

Backed by Nat Adderley on trumpet, Red Norvo on vibraphone, Horace Parlan on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and Ronnie Gardiner on drums, Benny Carter leads this lively sextet through a memorable programme of standards from the Great American Songbook plus the jazz classics "Work Song" and "Lover Man." The musicians on the session are clearly inspired by Benny's leadership and brilliant musicianship.

Ben Sidran presents the classic rhythm and blues performances of the 1980's with his personal insight into each song, the artist and the performance. Featuring Long John Baldry, Nick Gravenites, John Mayall, Willie Murphy, John Sebastian, Bonnie Koloc and Lady Bianca.

Ben Sidran presents the classic rhythm and blues performances of the 1980's with his personal insight into each song, the artist and the performance. Featuring rare performances from blues greats such as Baby Doo Caston, John Lee Hooker, John Mayall, Nick Gravenites, Long John Baldr and John Sebastian

Ben Sidran presents the classic rhythm and blues performances of the 1980's with his personal insight into each song, the artist and the performance. Featuring great performances by Bonnie Koloc, Chick Corea, Long John Baldry and Tower of Power.

Billy Cobham is the uncontested champion of the drumming world. His incomparable instrumental mastery contributed immensely to putting fusion and jazz-rock into orbit. From Horace Silver, Michael and Randy Brecker to John McLaughlin, and right up to the great Miles, almost every important jazz musician of the past three decades is deeply indebted to his genius as an accompanist. The years have left hardly a trace on the dazzling technique and the hard-rocking, funky energy with an R&B edge of "the man with the golden sticks." Together with his Culture Mix sidekicks - onstage at the New Morning club in Paris - Billy Cobham is reinventing and intensifying the miracle of an art form open to younger generations of musicians and music lovers from all horizons.

Before achieving international pop stardom with his vocal recordings for the Capitol label during the early 50's, the great Nat "King" Cole (1917-1965) enjoyed considerable success fronting his own trio in Hollywood and resorting to a repertoire of jazzy/jivey/novelty numbers that made for irresistible listening. Initially backed by guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, singer-pianist Cole set for a smooth, crisp, appealing sound that gained him early popularity. Best exemplified in hit tunes such as Rout 66, Scotchin' With the Sode, Sweet Lorraine or Hit That Hive Jack , the peculiar Nat Cole style somewhat came to define the spirit of the war years.

A first-class singer and a very talented pianist, Nat Cole did frequent soundies during this initial period of his career, and this recording is a fascinating collection of those early film shorts produced for theaters and television. Backed by sideman guitarists Oscar Moore, bassists Irving Ashby, Johnny Miller and Joe Comfort and Latin percussionists Jack Costanzo, Cole was in peak artistic form in these true musical gems from his early West Coast period. Recommended to old-time fans and jazz enthusiasts alike, the music in this anthology sounds as enjoyable as ever.

Join an ecstatic audience at the renowned Harvest Jazz Festival at the Paul Masson Vineyards in California for a double bill concert sure to consume your soul.

Fronting his own quartet, Bobby Hutcherson performs a set that is simply brilliant. Being consumed and overtaken by the crowd's electricity, Bobby delivers a nearly 30-minute improvisational performance! As a stylist whose playing falls between hard bop and post-bop, this vibraphonist has worked with all the contemporary jazz greats and delivers a sensational and electric performance!

Influenced by both traditional Brazilian singers and the improvisations of American jazz divas such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Flora Purim demonstrates her musical diversity with unique live performances including an improvisation with Airto Moreira.

Larry Coryell can still be argued as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. A complete original, he was asked to play on sessions by countless musicians, mostly due to his progressive style of play, which primarily fused the ideas of rock and jazz into one intense and funky entity.

This video is a retrospective show that primarily looks back on those years of discovery through a live show that is as every bit electrifying as when these songs were first recorded. Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (a legend in his own right), James Valentine of Maroon 5 and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos drop by to show off their talents in homage of Coryell. Through interviews and rehearsal footage we can seek how music is created and why Larry Coryell has always been the best kept secret.

Filmed in Chicago and finished in 1959, The Cry of Jazz is filmmaker, composer and arranger Edward O. Bland's polemical essay on the politics of music and race - a forecast of what he called "the death of jazz." A landmark moment in black film, foreseeing the civil unrest of subsequent decades, it also features the only known footage of visionary pianist Sun Ra from his beloved Chicago period. Featured are ample images of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and the rest of Ra's Arkestra in Windy City nightclubs, all shot in glorious black and white.

This film is a behind-the-scenes look at Afro-Cuban music's role in the daily life of Cubans. Filmmaker Gary Keys brings the audience into the heart and soul of Havana, through a vibrant mosaic of street musicians, big bands, dancers, religious rituals, and classic cars. Keys shows us Afro-Cuban music in New York City, with the music and commentary of jazz legends Billy Taylor, Candido Camero, and Chico O'Farrill.

With such a great influence to many famous performers today, Willie Dixon is the man who changed the style of the blues. With artists like Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and Chuck Berry, they owe a chunk of nearly every dime they ever made, and an earful of nearly every ovation they ever received. As a songwriter and producer, the man was genius. If there'd been no Willie Dixon, Chess Records wouldn't have been as mighty a force as it was in shaping the great post-war blues explosion, and in helping build the foundation of rock 'n' roll.

With the magnificent sets of the Quartier Latin in Giancarlo del Monaco's La Boheme as a backdrop, the Teatro Real presents an invigorating Latin jazz cross-pollination, featuring some of the world's greatest jazz fusionists: the veteran Cuban saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera and the creator of the "New Flamenco Sound," Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez. This vibrant tête-à-tête of two of Latin jazz's most talented musicians offers some of the best Latin jazz of our times. This concert fires up the screen with virtuosic and electrifying performances of some truly multi-dimensional jazz, coloured with salsa, flamenco, tango, bolero, African and other Latin music elements.

Duke Ellington was more than just the masterful bandleader of a legendary orchestra who at one time or another featured jazz greats such as Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Paul Gonsalves, Sidnet Bechet, Cootie Williams, Harry Edison, Clark Terry, Barney Bigard, Jimmy Blanton, and a host of first-rate sidemen too numerous to mention. Ellington was also a superb and prolific composer who wrote literally thousands of songs (including numbers such as Flamingo, Take the A Train, Caravan, Mood Indigo, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, C-Jam Blues, Perdido and countless other classics). Besides being a top-notch arranger, the Duke was also a restless, experimental artist by nature and a musician who never stopped recording from 1926 on. It is safe to say that the incomparable Duke Ellington (1899-1947) stands in a class of his own and will be remembered as one of the men who defined the shape of jazz and American music throughout most of the Twentieth Century.

This film compiles different short and medium-length films starring the great Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Black and Tan (1929) , Symphony In Black (1935 - featuring the famous sequence with Billie Holiday), plus assorted different musical sequences from other motion pictures, including the three scenes starring Mae...

An excellent bob-based guitarist with a slight country twang to his sound, Herb Ellis became famous playing with the Oscar Peterson Trio during 1953-1958. Prior to that, he had played with the Casa Loma Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey (1945-1947), and the sadly under-recorded trio Soft Winds

Through the 1970's and still today, Ernie Watts signature has found its way on the recordings of music's biggest names. Watts's reed work can be heard on numerous classical recordings from artists as Arturo Sandoval, Sergio Mendez, Cannonball Adderley, Oliver Nelson, and Toots Thielmans.

His strengths however are much more ubiquitous than the the jazz realm, having played on sessions for pop's most respected artists namely Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Frank Zappa, Julio Iglesias, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt and The Rolling Stones where he joined them on stage for their 1981 U.S. Tour

Featuring Stan Getz and Richie Cole with his own band Alto Madness, Cool Summer album features their own unique style in the ambient setting of the renowned Harvest Jazz Festival at the Paul Masson Vineyards in California. This festival has attracted the very best Jazz musicians and appreciative audiences from around the world.

In 1982, the master showman Dizzy Gillespie performed at Lincoln Center with his celebrated Dream Band, which brought together master musicians who had played with Dizzy or been influenced by him. The concert itself is filmed beautifully with many close-ups of the players and their instruments, as well as catching the love and humor of Dizzy.

Recorded at a time when Dizzy Gillespie was fronting his fabled post-war big band featuring jazz greats such as pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson or bassist Ray Brown. Jivin' in Be-Bop is a concert film that catches the irrepressible trumpeter in top artistic form. In a format that was typical of the day, dancing acts and singers such as Helen Humes or Kenny "Pancho" Hagood were featured alongside the heading Gillespie orchestra. More that fifty years have passed, but watching Diz and his men enthusiastically attach Bob classics such as Salt Peanuts, Shaw Nuff or Things to Come still makes for wonderful viewing.

The ambient setting of the renowned Harvest Jazz Festival at the Paul Masson Vineyards in California attracted the very best of Jazz musicians from the around the world performing to an appreciative audience. Cool Summer album features Dexter Gordon and McCoy Tyner, two of the amazing artists sharing with your their own unique style.

Jeff Healey gained worldwide fame as a stunningly original rock/blue guitarist. His passion however, was the infections and joyful music from the classic ear, the days when Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke ruled the music world.

Reconstructing and re-interpreting this music was the reason Jeff formed the Jazz Wizards at the height of his rock and roll career. How brilliantly his band did so is evident on this concert, originally recorded for a television show called Beautiful Noise on a snowy winter's day in January 2006 in Toronto.

Jeff playing trumpet and guitar, leads his excellent band into musical history. As always, he delivers jazz from the past with humor, respect for the tradition and a contemporary attitude.

INCOGNITO - far more than just a band. The sound visionary Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick has been pioneering in the mercurial acid jazz scene, and as a talent factory, INCOGNITO has rolled the red carpet for vocal prodigies, such as Jocelyn Brown and the best musicians from the British groove community. Short-lived musical trends have done nothing to damage the popularity of this multi-cultural band with their driving rhythms and elegant melodies and they have become a trademark all over the world, especially live. In this vein, "Bluey" Maunick celebrated INCOGNITO'S 30th birthday on stage at the London, indigO2 with a thrilling concert in summer 2009.

It was a fantastic night: with their blend of soul and jazz, funk and fusion almost 30 musicians, with several surprise guest appearances, electrified the audience. Thanks to the contagious energy and virtuoso solo numbers, each song became something special. And as if this band hadn't given us enough variety, the strings of the Millenia Ensemble provided a delightful additional interplay of sound.

Live from St. Thomas's Church - the church for which Bach conceived most of his works - comes a concert performed by the man who introduced Bach to the world of jazz and vice versa. In 1959, Jacques Loussier hit upon the idea that was to make his international reputation, by combining his interest in jazz with his love of J.S. Bach. He created his very own view of Bach, blending the most beautiful tunes of the Baroque master with an irresistibly swinging sound. Loussier's trio achieved the breakthrough to popular commercial success enjoyed by only a select few jazz musicians. In fifteen years, the group sold over six million albums. On the occasion of Loussier's 70th birthday, the ensemble performed its greatest hits - jazz arrangements of Bach, Debussy, Satie and Ravel - in Bach's "own" church in Leipzig for the first time.

Jazz Crusaders originally came together in the California of the sixties through the initiative of Wayne Henderson and Joe Sample, soon joined by Larry Carlton who was just launching his career. Their weapons, rather than swords and lances, have always been Soul and Funk. Since the worldwide success of Street Live , the group has become an incescapable icon for lovers of sophisticated groove - and a legendary musical phoenix, rising from its ashes to new life again and again. Several decades later, led by the untiring Henderson, the Jazz Crusaders are still right up there at the top, more in the groove than ever to the great delight of the fans who have flocked to the New Morning.

Ben Sidran has been a major force in the modern-day history of jazz and rock and roll, having played keyboards with or produced such artists as Steve Miller, Mose Allison, Blue Mitchell, Diana Ross, Boz Scaggs, Phil Upchurch, Tony Williams, Jon Hendricks, Richie Cole and Van Morrison.

It's been a long and varied journey from playing boogie woogie piano as a six year old in Racine, Wisconsin, to growing up to play boogie woogie piano around the world, and despite the reality that Sidran is better known in Europe and Japan than in America, "a fact of life for most jazz musicians," Ben Sidran is an international superstar.

Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. Billy Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30 years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate drummer.

Billy Cobham's explosive technique powered some of the fusion genre's most important early recordings - including groundbreaking efforts by Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra - before he became an accomplished bandleader in his own right. At his best, Cobham harnessed his amazing dexterity into thundering, high-octane hybrids of jazz complexity and rock 'n roll agression. He was capable of subtler, funkier grooves on the one hand, and awe-inspiring solo improvisations on the other.

For four decades, Chuck's boundless energy, unabashed enthusiasm, and pure joy have characterized his love affair with music and the resulting admiration of his audience.

He joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, assuming the trumpet chair that had belonged to such great players as Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and Freddie Hubbard, before going solo and receiving a Grammy nomination for Land of Make Believe. His album Feels So Good became a worldwide megahit thanks to its self-titled single, which features one of the most recognized melodies in the world, and he has continued recording and performing music of a standard that has made him an influential contemporary jazz icon.

Few musicians in the history of jazz have made such a lasting popular and worldwide impression as pianist George Shearing. Deified in the 1950s by Jack Kerouac in the novel On the Road, Shearing moved from early success in his native Britain to postwar New York where he captured the spirit of successive jazz generations and created a permanent place for himself in the Hall of Fame with his quintet's September in the Rain and his own quintessentially hip composition Lullaby of Birdland. The artistry of Shearing's legendary bluesy, "locked-hands" style is as fresh and appealing as ever.

In Shearing we have a jazz artist who has seen and heard it all. His influences range from boogie-woogie to stride to bebop, and he incorporates all of those distinct styles into one that sounds like ... George Shearing. Shearing is one of a handful of jazz legends still giving us the benefit of their experience. Overlook him at your own risk.

Primarily recognized as an award-winning jazz vibraphonist, Mike Mainieri's equally remarkable talents as producer, arranger and composer have contributed to shaping the cutting-edge in music. Throughout his career, Mike has collaborated with the world's most formidable jazz players, produced numerous albums and discovered a host of innovative, young talent.

At the age of 14, his own jazz trio was touring with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra; by 17 he was playing and arranging for Buddy Rich's sextet - a tenure which continued up until 1962 - and at the age of 18, he won the International Jazz Critic's Award. In 1962, he joined the groundbreaking jazz/rock group Jeremy & The Satyrs and performed with such monumental figures as Frank Zappa, Richie Havens and Jimi Hendrix. From 1969-1972, he was an integral part of the White Elephant Orchestra that created so many musical directions for the decades to follow.

During the late '70's, Mainieri founded the pioneering jazz fusion group Steps Ahead, delving into contemporary sounds while maintaining experimentation and compositional integrity as a launching pad for young talent and new musical ideas. He subsequently founded NYC Records; an extension of himself, the independent label is a vehicle for exposing new ideas grounded in the...

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary Jazz artists all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American Jazz clubs, open air Jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing Jazz Legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary Jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American Jazz clubs, open air Jazz festivals and concert halls throughput Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, quality and enthusiasm of the performing Jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary Jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American Jazz clubs, open air Jazz festivals and concert halls throughput Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, quality and enthusiasm of the performing Jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary Jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American Jazz clubs, open air Jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing Jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciations of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary jazz artists recorded all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American jazz clubs, open air jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing jazz legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Legends Live! is a series of live performances from contemporary Jazz artists all over the world in a variety of venues - intimate American Jazz clubs, open air Jazz festivals and concert halls throughout Europe. However, what is consistent throughout the series is the wonderful music, the quality and enthusiasm of the performing Jazz Legends and the appreciation of the worldwide audiences.

Jazz Shots from the West Coast, Vol. 1 pays homage to the two coasts - namely the cities of New York and Los Angeles, and to some of the most important musicians who have spent a major part of their career there. Some of these musicians were born in the Midwest, or the South, and later moved to one of the two coasts. What is taken into account when placing the musician in the East or West Coast categories, is where they recorded their most influential works.

This collection focuses exclusively on live performances ranging from clubs to festivals to TV studio engagements without any speakers or introducers. Nothing but music!

Tenor saxophone great Joe Lovano plays "with a balance of imaginative abandon and technical control that has not been heard since John Coltrane," says Downbeat magazine. Lovano's recordings are consistently at the top of critics' end-of-the-year "Best of" lists (including his Grammy-winning 52nd Street Themes). Touring with his nine-piece ensemble - the previous much celebrated nonet in jazz history was the one Miles Davis formed for his legendary Birth of the Cool - Lovano has found the perfect vehicle in this "little-big band" format, striking a balance between the powerful sound of a large ensemble and the intimacy of the solo-oriented small combo. Each of his Nonet performances at the New Morning - such as this 2001 show featuring the late John Hicks - has been an unforgettable experience for his countless French fans.

Bluesland - A Portrait in American Music explores the blues, with all its poetic irony and sly humour, its eroticism and timeless power. A uniquel creative and highly visual look at American blues, Bluesland travels the expansive landscape of the music, tracing its roots from the beginning of the 20th century through the Mississippi Delta to Louisiana, Texas, Kansas City and Chicago. With rare and memorable footage of the greatest performers, the film follows the music's many tributaries as blues flows into the sophisticated jazz of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the rhythm and blues of Louis Jordan and Dinah Washington, and the rock and roll of Chuck Berry and Elvis. Bluesland is a moving, authentic and illustrative overview of the blues - a must for all music lovers.

One of the great legends in American music, the virtuoso saxophonist Charlie Parker – nicknamed Bird – created a new style of jazz and won equal fame as the king of the hipsters. Celebrating Bird – The Triumph of Charlie Parker is a revealing look at an enigmatic yet endlessly appealing man, who soared to the heights of creative freedom but couldn't beat a lifelong addiction to heroin, and it includes Parker's only surviving TV appearance playing Hot House. With Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Haynes, Jay McShann, Frank Morgan, Chan Parker and others.

A leading musician of the swing era and an outstanding representative of the big band style, Count Basie was an eminent bandleader and jazz pianist. He led one of the most enduring swing bands of all time; no other musician was ever more committed to stomping, shouting, swinging and dragging away the blues than Count Basie. In Swingin' the Blues, a distinguished group of Basie alumni - including early band stars Harry "Sweets" Edison, Earle Warren and Claude Williams, and later stars like Illinois Jacquet, Buddy Tate and Joe Williams - lend their insights. The film is generously supported by vintage performance footage beginning in the 1930s and master recordings of the greates Basie sessions.

Lady Day - The Many Faces of Billie Holiday invites viewers to see the many faces of this "dark lady of the sonnets," as one poet called her, and to appreciate her undying art more deeply. Most presentations feature Lady Day as the sad victim of hard times and drugs. The single fact of her life that matters above all others is that she was a great artist who, with Louis Armstrong, invented modern jazz singing. Mining a treasure trove of completely new information, the producers set the record straight – and beautifully. In a voice that is Billie-like in its rasping wiseness and its ring, stage and screen star Ruby Dee reads from Holiday’s autobiography Lady Sings the Blues.

Masters of American Music is an award-winning television series – as entertaining as it is educational and memorable – that celebrates a pantheon of the greatest innovators in jazz. Individual programmes trace the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of America's classical music. From its birth in New Orleans to swing, the big bands, bebop, free jazz and beyond – all of it is explored with sensitivity and in unique depth.

Over 80 interviews were filmed in the making of the series. Featured artists come to life through these conversations,...

Ray Charles was the innovator who fused gospel, jazz and blues to create modern soul music. His crossover vision also widened the scope of country and western, his unique voice touching the hearts of people around the world. Never-before-seen interviews with Ray himself as well as his family and friends reveal the heartbreak and humour of a man who overcame all odds, moving through tragedy to triumph and immortality. Included are rare and riveting clips of Ray's finest performances and greatest hits from five decades of music that altered the musical map.

Sarah Vaughan - The Divine One recounts the stellar singer's career, from her beginnings at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, to her debut at the Apollo Theater and her pre-eminence in nightclubs, concert halls and jazz festivals around the world. Packed with insightful interviews - many with Sarah herself - and live performances spanning her entire career, this is a very special portrait of a woman who was professionally unparalleled.

The Story of Jazz puts the crown on the Masters of American Music series. As entertaining as it is informative, this is a seamless array of performances, comments and compelling historic insight. This colourful tale of cross-cultural influences that produced a constantly evolving and enduring music is a rich 98-minute weave of sounds, rare film clips, stills and interviews. Never before have the filmed comments of so many important jazz artists been assembled for one project, and never before has the history of jazz been told as vividly and with such attention to historic detail.

Masters of American Music is an award-winning television series – as entertaining as it is educational and memorable – that celebrates a pantheon of the greatest innovators in jazz. Individual programmes trace the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of America's classical music. From its birth in New Orleans to swing, the big bands, bebop, free jazz and beyond – all of it is explored with sensitivity and in unique depth.

Over 80 interviews were filmed in the making of the series. Featured artists come to life through these conversations, exciting rare performances, period footage and vintage photographs meticulously reproduced. Both the video and audio...

Innovative, influential and strongly revered, John Coltrane was the most revolutionary and widely imitated saxophonist in jazz. With previously unseen footage, The World According to John Coltrane celebrates this extraordinary and passionate musician who strove with "relentless curiosity" for a musical ideal and cultivated an almost saintly reputation among listeners and fellow musicians. This film includes extensive performance footage and culminates in a fascinating musical meeting between the Art Ensemble of Chicago saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and dervish musicians in Morocco's Sahara desert in 1990.

Through a more personal and conversational style of documentary,
Thelonious Monk – American Composer was the first fully rounded portrait of this terribly misunderstood man and musician. He was the pianistic ringleader of the bebop revolution and, after Duke Ellington, jazz' first major composer. Thelonious Sphere Monk – a most original talent – remained a highly productive musician after more than thirty years of musical activity and continued to be a growing artist, exploring his art and extending his range.

Masters of American Music is an award-winning television series – as entertaining as it is educational and memorable – that celebrates a pantheon of the greatest innovators in jazz. Individual programmes trace the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of America's classical music. From its birth in New Orleans to swing, the big bands, bebop, free jazz and beyond – all of it is explored with sensitivity and in unique depth.

Over 80 interviews were filmed in the making of the series. Featured artists come to life through these conversations, exciting rare performances, period footage and vintage photographs meticulously reproduced. Both the video and audio content has been restored and remastered in...

In 1979, three world renowned guitarists, recognized as the finest exponents of their individual styles, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell and Paco de Lucia formed a guitar super-trio and toured Europe. The spell-binding quality of the music that the collaboration created as an ensemble and the dazzling audience reaction to the performances has never been surpassed and has rightfully passed into Jazz folklore. At long last an original, authenticated master of the concert is available for a worldwide audience to experience how the legend that was a Meeting of the Spirits was made.

Senior Jazz columnist Mike Zwerin who's been in and out of the Jazz Galaxy says it like this: "Mike Stern is one of the best electric guitarists of his generation." This has never been more obvious than in the extraordinary concert the four-time Grammy nominee gave in the spring of 2008 to a mesmerized New Morning audience. At the peak of his inspiration, improvising past all musical genres, Mike - superbly backed this time by brilliant drummer Dave Weckl, soulful tenor saxophonist Bob Franceschini and incredible bassist Tom Kennedy - takes his fans along into a journey of pure musical delight. Not a surprise that mike concluded the evening by confiding: "I don't want to stop! They'll probably have to wheel me off the stage."

This magical concert from the New Morning in 2001 finds the magnificent Monty Alexander accompanied by Bobby Thomas, Jr. and Hassan W. Shakour. The life and career of pianist Monty Alexander is a dream come true. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on D-Day, this formidably gifted and happy child prodigy soon directed his feet to the sunny side of the street, like Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, his first hero, sang. His lucky star showed up before he was twenty years old, when Frank Sinatra produced him in that temple of fifties and sixties pop music, Jilly's Bar in New York. After Ray Brown invited Monty to sit in, he was ready to go. He never looked back. Monty's swing and lyricism inspired such giants as Milt Jackson, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie and a whole pantheon of stars, who he accompanied to the four corners of the Earth - in the course of an exemplary musical journey both as monster pianist and subtle composer. These days, younger at heart as ever, he revisits Randy Weston and Bob Marley for an irresistible return to his Jamaican roots.

James Morrison is the hottest jazz musician from Australia to emerge onto the international scene. A superbly talented multi-instrumentalist, he has no peers on jazz trumpet, trombone or euphonium and his U.S. debut, at the Village Vanguard in New York, prompted veteran jazz writer Leonard Feather to rate him as 'a sure bet for jazz superstardom'.

This films into Morrison's dynamic energy and boundless creativity and features him in concert in Australia, with his mentor Don Burrows; at the Montreux Jazz Festival; in a creative improvisation session with the Australian artist Ken Done. Done develops a canvas in response to Morrison's performance and Morrison, in turn, responds to the painter at work.

The highlight of the program is footage of Morrison rehearsing and performing with the World Superband, in New York.

The Austrian trombonist, pianist, composer and conductor has established his reputation on the international scene as an innovator who seeks to break down the boundaries between jazz and modern classical forms. Muthspiel collaborated with lyricist Bernd Hagg on this project, bringing together a special line-up of versatile instrumentalists who embrace the duality of improvisation and the interpretation of composed contemporary music. He has added to this the contrasting voices of Gail Anderson, an Afkican American singer steeped in jazz, rhythm and blues and soul, and two artists who find their natural home on the operatic and concert stage: Cornelia Horak (soprano) and Anna Clare Hauf (alto).

The mix of styles creates a dialogue in which the sensuality and improvisational joy of jazz inflect the banter around pre-scored sounds. Time and again, the cool, atonal and compositional elements get sucked up in whirls of excitement, such as the guitar solos by trombonist Christian Muthspiel's brother, Wolfgang.

The American label Go Jazz, which specializes in Jazz, Fusion, and Blues, takes its artists' ideas seriously. The company's founder Ben Sidran, himself a successful musician, regularly gathers the best of his team to form a touring band. The Go Jazz All-Stars - with the talented British show singer Georgie Fame - guarantee a clever mix of entertainment and virtuoso performance.

When Oscar Peterson was 14 years old, his piano teacher, Paul de Marky, left him with a statement which would govern his life: "Respect the instrument. Make it sound as if it loves you. Then it will love you." When Oscar Peterson caresses the keys, this love becomes tangible. He becomes one with the instrument, and his improvisations are characterised by vigour and elegance, his infinite fantasy and his overwhelming delight in sound and melodies. Playing is like speaking, Peterson once said: "You need a clear, distinct voice and a large vocabulary." Both this, as well as his virtuosity, made the Canadian one of the most significant, and popular, jazz musicians of all time. He was awarded seven Grammy Awards between 1975 and 1991; and of the other awards he received, the Glenn Gould Prize (1993) and the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association (1999) are the most eminent. The concert held at the ZDF JazzClub in Stuttgart was played by Oscar Peterson together with the drummer Kenny Drew and the double bass player Dave Young. Their collaboration had begun in 1974. For Drew, who was British, it lasted until 2004, while the Canadian Young was a regular member of Peterson's trio for 25 years. Jazz classics, including a medley with five compositions from Duke Ellington's...

The Paris Reunion Band, which came into being in 1984, was a celebration of the Paris jazz scene of the 1960s and was also a respectful salute to Klook, who was originally to have been featured with the band. His death in January 1985 represented an immense loss to jazz and was a severe blow to the other PRB musicians. BUt with the total agreement of Kenny's widow, Daisy, it was decided that the project would continue with Billy Brooks - a drummer of whom Klook very much approved - handling all percussion duties.

With a classic repertoire drawn from the swinging 1920's and the lively 1930's, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra have provided unparalleled and energetic stage shows to admirers around the world for over three decades.

As much a composer as a performer, Barre has worked in the areas of film, ballet and theater throughout the years whilst his stage experience spans a wide range of musical styles, from Coleman Hawkins to Cecil Taylor to Interactive Electronic music. His work in the 1970's with John Surman and Stu Martin as The Trio , became a model in itself, and influenced many younger musicians. This unique improvisation set demonstrates why Barre is in constant demand throughout Europe, North America and Japan as a soloist and improviser.

The music documentary Play Your Own Thing provides a comprehensive history of European jazz. It explores the origins of the US-influenced jazz clubs after the Second World War, the first steps independent of American jazz and the various changes of direction that have repeatedly occurred in the search for that "own voice" that European jazz musicians have helped to form. Featuring the mastery of Chris Barber, Jan Garbarek, Juliette Greco, Stefano Bollani and Till Bronner, to name but a few, the film provides a wealth of styles in jazz. For his third documentary on jazz, filmmaker Julian Benedikt travelled to a wide variety of European countries in search of an all-embracing documentation of European jazz music. His storytelling is not overly sophisticated, nor does he simply reproduce the known clichés; rather the movie engages its audience with very personal impressions of European jazz, past and present. Accompanied by rarely seen archival footage featuring such influencing American jazz legends as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, this unique document offers a collection of sparkling musical gems from both sides of the Atlantic.

Rufus Reid's career began in Chicago and his extensive jazz background and discography reads literally like the Who's Who of jazz. He has traveled, performed and recorded with many of the great Jazz Masters whilst confessing to have been privileged to share many musical moments with icons such as Gene Ammons, Kenny Dorham, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Don Byas, Philly Joe Jones, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Farmer.

Django Reinhardt's music still looms as the standard to be attained some 50 years after his death. The Gypsy guitarist, who played with only two fingers of his left hand, was Europe's first jazz superstar. He's the unschooled genius who created his own musical and compositional style and became a legend. Discover his music, his melodic abilities and his skill at achieving simultaneously technical precision and deeply meaningful tonal nuances in this unique tribute to the king of jazz guitar.

Uniquely, Django Reinhardt fits several simultaneous archetypes. He is the streetwise kid turned celebrity. He is the miraculous survivor of an accident who went on to overcome his handicap. He is the illiterate who used musical notes as a universal language. He is the whimsical musician who defied every setback.

Django was already a legend in his own lifetime, and this film tells of the life and times of a genius to whom death came too early. Yet another, final archetype. But above all it allows us to discover the dazzling talent of one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the twentieth century.

Inspired by the uniquely festive Rio atmosphere and stimulated by the support of some of Brazil's finest musicians, these three outstanding artists deliver a programme of great variety and vitality with immense verve and commitment.

Although the three principal artists come from very disparate musical backgrounds, they perform with great compatibility and with very evident enthusiasm.

For Robben Ford's thousands of enthusiastic Paris fans, this New Morning concert in July 2009 captures their icon's genius in a truly unprecedented manner. Backed brilliantly by Athens-born Toss Panos - a musicologist and student of African percussion who brings Mediterranean flavour to the trio - and by L.A. bassist Travis Carlton, Robben's unique style (a tasteful blend of strength and finesse) asserts itself impressively above and beyond his rock, jazz, fusion and blues influences. "What music is really about is what happens when it's played in front of people. That's when you really understand it. That's what I wanted to capture."

When Randy Sabien picks up his violin, get ready. His rhythmic, bluesy, swingin' sound will have you bobbing your head, tapping your toes and dancing right out of your chair as although Randy's musical aspirations began by studying classical violin, his direction did an about face the day he discovered he could play jazz on the violin!

John is considered one of the most important and influential jazz guitarists and composers since he arrived on the scene in the mid 70's. A masterful improviser at the peak of his creative art, Scofield performs compositions and interpretations richly combining post-bop, funk edged jazz and R&B influences which are pure delight to his fans around the world! The New Morning is deeply honoured to welcome at last this brilliant performance by John Scofield to its series of videos dedicated to the great musicians of the Sons of Miles generation. A veteran alum, John toured and recorded with Miles Davis for nearly four years in the 80's.

Musician, composer and recording artist Scott Cossu's background in jazz and rhythm 'n blues, combined with his years of classical training and his study of ethnic music from Sudan, Thailand, China, Romania and Ecuador, result in unique music that has been performed in concerts worldwide and recorded since 1981.

His music shows imagination and taste, with varied meters and tempo. This set, with longtime sideman Van Manakas on electric guitar and Eddie Wood on percussion, exhibits Scott's many departures from the New Age field with a melodic blend of jazz, classical and ethnic influences.

Herewith yet another treasure from the Sonet archive - a concert by a highly accomplished and superbly compatible Zoot Sims Trio, recorded in the library of the Sonet headquarters building in Lidingo, Sweden, on 21 November 1984 - just four months before Zoot died, at the age of 60.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions spotlights unaccompanied performances by some of the legends and bright young stars of the jazz world. Designed and recorded specifically for television, SOLOS offers viewers front row seats for an intimate and unique jazz experience. Each program features complete musical pieces, insightful interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

"Put your heart and soul into your music and maybe you'll catch one person out front," Miles Davis remarked to guitarist Mike Stern in the early eighties, during their collaboration. "Catching one person will always be enough for me," Mike replied - even if it's now by the thousands, night after night, that he mesmerizes his audiences worldwide. What a revelation, after his brilliant romps with Bob Berg, the Brecker Brother, Jaco Pastorius, Joe Henderson and so many others, to find three-time Grammy nominee Stern side by side with super bassist-singer Richard Bona at the New Morning in 2004. It was written in the stars that Mike's fiery guitar and Richard's singing bass should meet. Supported rhythmically and melodically by legendary drummer Dennis Chamber and brilliant tenor saxophonist Bob Franceschini, the Mike Stern Band brings forth stirring lyricism that will sound irresistible to music lovers everywhere.

Liz Story has established herself as one of the most distinctive composers and pianists. The three-time Grammy nominee fashions a deeply personal style, balancing physical prowess against delicate moods, colors and textures, which take shape at the exclusive transitions between classical and folk with a rich jazz harmony of pioneers like Bill Evans, Story's acknowledged chief inspiration.

Composer, photgrapher and filmmaker Phill Niblock's classic of experimental underground filmmaking with a sensational soundtrack by pianist Sun Ra and the members of his Solar Arkestra! Shot in the mid-'60s, when the Arkestra was based in New York, this film was produced using a unique negative process and ultra-tight close-ups on the moving hands and mouths of the musicians.

The result is a virtually abstract music film, mastered from a new print in all its incredibly sharp black and white glory.

Jazz began to "swing" as musicians began to adopt swing eighths, the string bass, high hat cymbals, and a looser, more rhythmic feeling. This change occurred gradually starting in the 1920s notably with Louis Armstrong, and continued on into the 1940s. A lot of the music that came out of this period was played by bands of ten musicians or more. Because of this, the swing era is alos often known as the big band era.

Bach meets Jazz! International musicians from the world of jazz and classical music assembled in the marketplace in Leipzig to celebrate the great master. The line up of performers could hardly be surpassed - it includes world-famous musicians from both genres, including Bobby McFerrin, the Jacques Loussier Trio, the King's Singers, Gil Shaham, the Turtle Island String Quartet and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, all of whom joined forces on this memorable day – exactly 250 years after the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in the city where he lived and composed some of his major works as St. Thomas Cantor. Bach's music is presented in the two-hour recording as extravagant arrangements of the composer's hits, and the concert took place under the motto that the music of Bach "is still vital, is still contemporary, and is still very much universal." It proves its point resoundingly in one of the most enjoyable crossover programmes ever recorded.

Art Tatum: The Art of Jazz Piano is still the only documentary portrait of the greatest jazz pianist ever. Using photographs and some rare foot-ago of Tatum and his contemporaries, the film reconstructs his genius.

Bonus:
Includes interviews with musicians who played with him or who were influenced strongly by him.

Cecil Taylor is the grand master of free jazz piano. All the Notes captures in breezy fashion the unconventional stance of this media-shy modern musical genius, regarded as one of the true giants of post-war music. An intimate portrait of a consummate musician and sound thinker in triumphant maturity, bringing out Taylor's nobility, devotion, and belief in a truth that can only be found after a lifetime of invention.

This is the incredible life story of Mr. Trombone and Mr. Sax, two brothers who found individual success following the break-up of their orchestra and the death of their father.

Featuring a host of well-known big band musicians and singers, The Fabulous Dorseys features the music that made Tommy and Jimmy famous, including Marie, Green Eyes, I'm Getting Sentimental Over Your, Dorsey Concerto, Object of My Affection, and many more

Hailed as the most inventive guitarist since Charlie Christian, Larry Coryell is not only a hero, but a living legend of the guitar. This is a fully and utterly deserved epithet for this godfather of fusion, a creator of subtle soundscapes and of riffs delivered at the speed of light that qualify as jewels of musical distinction! As he demonstrates once again in the framework of Three Guitars with Badi Assad and John Abercrombie, two of the sharpest guitarists on the circuit who joined him on the stage of the New Morning in 2004, Larry is one of the most engaging personalities of the jazz scene today - even if, like his late friend Frank Zappa, he is profoundly suspicious of compliments. His standard response to words of praise is: Shut up and play .

The double bass is the deepest of all string instruments. It is not always up front, but it is an influential element in classical, world and jazz music.

Miroslav Vitous arrived in New York in 1967, where he quickly involved himself in the music scene, playing with many different artists including Charlie Mariano, Bob Broolmeyer, Stan Getz, Herbie Mann, Miles Davis and Chick Corea. In 1970, along with Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul, he formed the supergroup Weather Report. He then formed the Miroslav Vitous Group with John Surman, Kenny Kirkland and Jon Christensen. He later reunited with Chick Corea and Roy Haynes, and then with Stanley Clark before embarking on an equally successful solo career.